Democrats bring the “build back better” message to the city of Brotherly Love. 

On Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee’s “Build Back Better” bus tour made a visit to Philadelphia to promote President Joe Biden’s agenda. 

The visit included remarks from DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia), American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and other local leads, according to a release from the DNC. 

“Thanks to President Biden and Democrats, America is building back better than ever, and the DNC is hitting the road to make sure everybody knows that the ‘D’ in Democrats stands for ‘deliver,’” said Harrison. “Because of President Biden’s and Democrats’ leadership, jobs and wages are up, unemployment is down, and middle-class families are benefiting from a major tax cut. We know there is still work to be done and the DNC’s ‘Build Back Better’ bus tour will remind people across the country that it is Democrats who are delivering results for the American people — no thanks to Republicans.”

Evans touted the Democratic backed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, while also stressed the need to pass an infrastructure package.  

“With our country reeling from the pandemic, President Biden and the Democratic Congress wasted no time to help citizens in need and it came in the form of the big and bold $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan,” said Evans. “The impact was immediate and touched every corner of this country — from a vaccine distribution program that counts more than 200 million Americans receiving a life saving shot, to the Child Tax Credit that is the most impactful poverty relief program since the 1960s.”

“Leadership matters and with President Biden and the Democratic Congress we are helping the people, not the powerful,” he continued. “And we’re not done. With an infrastructure package in the works, along with the Build Back Better agenda, this Democratic Congress is working every day to help make the lives of all Americans better and more secure.”

Shapiro, who was the lone elected statewide Democratic official to speak at the event, promoted Biden’s agenda, while also crediting the work of Democrats in other levels of government.

“Pennsylvania is the birthplace of our democracy. Because we stood up to protect the right to vote in 2020, Americans were able to make their voices heard in a free and fair election — and they sent Joe Biden to the White House,” said Shapiro. “Pennsylvanians voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris because they wanted leadership to bring people together and get things done, and in just eight months, this administration has overseen the creation of millions of jobs and put money back into Americans’ pockets. Democrats at all levels of government are standing up for workers, protecting families, and leading responsibly — and that’s exactly what I’ll do as long as I serve the people of our Commonwealth.”

While Democrats used the bus tour as an opportunity to advocate for Biden’s plans, Republicans slammed the current administration over the recent events in Afghanistan. 

“The DNC’s ‘Build Back Better’ bus tour through Pennsylvania is a slap in the face to the Americans left stranded in Afghanistan and to our Afghan allies who were abandoned,” said RNC Spokesperson Allie Carroll. “It is obvious that the Democrats are attempting to shift focus away from Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal, but Pennsylvanians will not forget the humanitarian disaster caused by his failed leadership.”

Although Biden flipped Pennsylvania back in the win column for Democrats in 2020, recent national polling shows that the president’s job approval rating has recently declined, in large part due to his handling of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that 43% of voters approve of Biden’s performance as president, which is his lowest since being sworn-in to office. His current rating is 6% lower than a previous poll conducted in July. 

The most recent Pennsylvania specific polling, prior to the recent events in Afghanistan, also showed mixed reviews for Biden. 

According to a Franklin & Marshall College poll, conducted between August 9-15, 2021, 41% of voters in Pennsylvania believe that Biden is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president, while just two months ago his approval was at 44%. 

As of the latest F&M poll, Biden’s overall job approval rating at this point in his presidency does remain higher than Donald Trump’s and is similar to Barack Obama’s.